The auction at Tehran’s Parsian Azadi Hotel saw 118 classic and modern artworks going on sale, according to Financial Tribune.

A work by Hossein Zenderoudi, Iranian painter, calligrapher and sculptor, known as a pioneer of Iranian modern art and one of the earliest artists to incorporate Arabic calligraphy elements into his artwork, was sold for 32 billion rials ($244,274) to fetch the highest auction price in the current round, Tehranauction.com reported.

The next highest prices, amounting to 19 billion rials ($145,038) and 16 billion rials ($122,137), respectively, were paid for works by Manouchehr Yektai and Farhad Moshiri.

Tehran Auction was launched in 2012 as an independent and private initiative to introduce the best in Iranian art, ranging from the works of established and emerging Iranian artists to domestic and foreign art collectors.

It is an endeavor to address the increasing interest in modern and contemporary Iranian art and help facilitate the acquisition of quality works in a reliable manner.

The event also aims to support the domestic art market as a key to the international market. The auction closely collaborates with local art galleries and collectors to ensure a vast selection of paintings, sculptures and photographs.

The last Tehran Auction was held on July 5, 2019, grossing 422.04 billion rials ($3.22 million) and registering a 23% growth compared with the previous round.

Before the auction, there was speculation that the selloff would attract fewer buyers following the return of US sanctions, which precipitated the plunge of the Iranian rial against the US dollar.

But as it turned out, buyers and spectators, including many prominent figures in Iran's art and entertainment sectors, packed the auction venue.